USMNT Watch: Guzan Reaches Milestone, Gold Cup Hopefuls Suffer Setbacks

Unlike last week's offensive bonanza, the players in the United States men's national team talent pool were collectively quiet in front of goal this week.

Despite the slow week in the final third, there were a few major achievements and injuries that caught the attention of the USMNT fans. 

With that in mind, we begin our weekly USMNT watch with an impressive accomplishment in the English Premier League.

Brad Guzan Extends Impressive Streak into Triple Digits 

The current No. 1 'keeper on the USMNT depth chart started his 100th consecutive match in the English top flight for Aston Villa on Saturday.

The last player to start 100 consecutive Premier League matches was Jonathan Walters, who achieved the mark back in 2013. 

Unfortunately for Brad Guzan and the Villans, they could not celebrate the milestone in the style, as they fell 2-1 to Walters' Stoke City. 

The loss dropped Tim Sherwood's side down to 19th place after Burnley secured a surprising point at Stamford Bridge.

Geoff Cameron was not available for selection Saturday at Villa Park due to the red card he picked up in the FA Cup last time out.

Tim Howard received less than stellar reviews for his performance in Everton's 2-2 draw with Leicester City at Goodison Park on Sunday. 

Tim Ream Leaves Bolton's Match With an Injury

One of the players who should be set for a call-up in the near future is Bolton Wanderers defender Tim Ream.

In his side's 4-1 defeat at Nottingham Forest, Ream exited in the 34th minute due to an injury. 

The good news coming from Ream's camp is that he is not seriously injured. If he can remain in form over the final few months of the season, he has a real chance of playing in the CONCACAF Gold Cup this summer. 

On the other side of the pitch at the City Ground on Saturday afternoon was Eric Lichaj, who played 90 minutes at right-back for the ninth-placed side in the Championship. 

Danny Williams and Jonathan Spector both played the full match for their respective sides this weekend, while Oguchi Onyewu was not in the matchday squad for Charlton Athletic's trip to Wigan Athletic on Friday.

Bobby Wood Could Face Prolonged Absence

Just as things were starting to fall in his favor, Bobby Wood was forced out of Erzgebirge Aue's clash with Darmstadt on Friday.

All signs are pointing to at least two months away from the pitch for the forward, reported by Soccer America Daily, who scored twice last week against Fortuna Dusseldorf. 

Peter Morrison/Associated Press

An MCL tear was the diagnosis given by the club, but there are concerns that he may have injured his meniscus as well.

Wood will be out for at least eight weeks, which will keep him out of the two March friendlies against Denmark and Switzerland. His Gold Cup hopes could also be in doubt if he needs more time to recover. 

Elsewhere in the 2.Bundesliga, Alfredo Morales played 64 minutes for Ingolstadt and Andrew Wooten was on the pitch for 76 minutes in Sandhausen's 0-0 draw with Greuther Furth.

Potential New Face in Defense Contacted by USMNT Staff

USMNT fans may have a new reason to focus in on Bundesliga side Hamburg if the reports are true about Jurgen Klinsmann reaching out to Ashton Gotz. 

Gotz, a 21-year-old German-American full-back, is "very honored and very interested," according to his agent's statement to the Hamburger Morgenpost (via Soccer By Ives, h/t SB Nation). 

Peter Morrison/Associated Press

The right-back recently received a first-team call-up from Hamburg's U-23 side, where Julian Green was recently relegated. 

Do not be surprised if Gotz's name is on the USMNT roster in the near future, especially if he continues to earn playing time at Hamburg. He has appeared in four of the club's last five league games. 

Gotz appeared in the final 13 minutes of Hamburg's 1-1 draw with Borussia Monchengladbach, while Fabian Johnson did not feature for the visitors at the Imtech Arena. 

John Brooks started in Hertha Berlin's 2-1 defeat at Wolfsburg in the other Sunday match in the German top flight. 

Timothy Chandler played 90 minutes in Eintracht Frankfurt's 3-1 defeat to Mainz on Saturday. 

Jonathan Bornstein Returns to Action

Jonathan Bornstein received his first start in Liga MX since October 2012 on Saturday. 

Since joining Queretaro, the 30-year-old defender has experienced plenty of troubles, which were documented by Tom Marshall of MLSSoccer.com.

Phil Cole/Getty Images

The member of the 2010 World Cup squad is not in the USMNT picture at the moment, but his fortunes in Mexico are worth watching.

Michael Orozco and Edgar Castillo both lasted the entire match for Puebla and Atlas respectively this weekend. 

Greg Garza and Joe Corona both made appearances for Club Tijuana on Sunday. Corona's 30-minute stint off the bench marked his 100th Liga MX match with Xolos. 

News and Notes

Aron Johannsson and Rubio Rubin did not feature in the latest round of play in the Eredivisie. Johannsson is still nursing an injury, while Rubin was not selected for Utrecht's starting XI. 

Alejandro Bedoya did not feature for Nantes in the club's 1-0 loss to Lyon in Ligue 1 action on Sunday. 

Conor O'Brien started in Wiener Neustadt's 3-3 draw with Sturm Graz in the Austrian Bundesliga. 

In the MLS preseason, Graham Zusi scored for Sporting Kansas City on his return from injury against the Seattle Sounders in the Desert Diamond Cup held in Arizona.

Follow Joe on Twitter @JTansey90.